No Need To Win The Lottery: Personal Finance Blogger Tips on Building Wealth

Eveyrone wants to be financially free some day, but let’s face it: many of us lack the patience to do it the right way.

What else can explain the proliferation of get rich quick schemes? The fact is, a lot of folks would rather dream of winning the lotto or hope to inherit a vast amount of wealth by some stroke of luck (anyone have a long-lost wealthy aunt?) than work to build wealth on their own.

Let’s not forget though, that small things add up. From plugging money leaks to escaping the clutches of foreclosure, this week we’ve collected advice from personal finance bloggers that can help you get rich slowly.

Moneyed Up discusses the different attitudes that keep us from becoming wealthy. Most of the time, it’s not external circumstances that are to blame — rather, it’s the person you see in front of the mirror. Yes, sometimes we can only blame ourselves for any lack of progress towards our goals. It may be a good exercise to examine yourself against Moneyed Up’s archetypes, find out which one fits you, and do something about it.

This post from Gen Y Wealth talks about the 80/20 principle and debunks some well-worn productivity principles behind getting more “stuff” done in a day by suggesting that we can reach our goals faster by prioritizing. By focusing more on those things that matter to us, and cutting out those things that matter less, we may actually improve our productivity.

Speaking of wealth building and getting closer to your goals, nothing serves as a bigger obstacle to one’s financial journey than a mountain of credit card debt. Then again, what do you do when you need a new computer? A new fridge? A new couch? No Credit Needed teaches us how to skip using credit for our major purchases by learning how to follow a system of scheduling and saving. You’re always better off in the long run if you delay gratification, use cash more often and avoid debt.

Don’t we all just love a deal? The Wisdom Journal shows us that not all “good deals” are actually good. He shares a list of marketing ploys that are used to snare customers, many of which are under the guise of offering deals. Maybe it’s about time we take a closer look at the things we buy in order to “save” or to “get a good deal.” Before we open our wallets, we should ask ourselves if we’re really saving money when we come across a “buy one get one offer”.

Here’s a novel way to cut down on a few costs: share expenses with your neighbors. Bargaineering introduces the idea of sharing bills – like your Internet connection or new lawn mower. If you want to get somewhere financially, cutting costs is the other “rocket booster” working hand in hand with increasing your income.

Some of the bigger setbacks to getting ahead involve costs that are unexpected and unplanned. These can easily impact your budget unfavorably. Almost Frugal tells us how she ended up with a money leak she did not expect. She signed up for an online service whose terms were buried in the fine print, inadvertently costing her a few hundred dollars she did not intend to spend.

The Smarter Wallet tells the miraculous story of a New York judge reversing a couple’s foreclosure. It approaches the topic of foreclosure from some legal standpoints, while also offering some ideas for what you can do to avoid losing your home to your lender.

The journey towards financial independence may not be a complete breeze as it takes time, effort and commitment. But many people have made it down this path, taking it one step at a time. If you’re able to peg down your goals, prioritize those tasks most important to you, learn how to budget, cut costs and avoid temptations, then you won’t need to keep hoping to win the lottery.